Hello everyone! It’s time for the March 2019 GSM results. You can watch the video recap on Frumple’s YouTube channel here, or from MBS here. Not many staff or members were online (it is senior thesis defense season, after all), but we do have some announcements to share.

Rules Revamp is now in effect

The rules we announced in February have been approved and are now in effect. We are working on preparing an updated version of the rules page, so for now, please check the MRT Rules Revamp Google Doc to see what’s new.

We did receive some much-appreciated feedback from members about the rules, and after further consideration have decided not to make any changes. Therefore, all rules are in effect as they were published in February. Let the seaplane base and helipad construction begin!

Minecraft 1.13 preparations

We are continuing to prepare for the Minecraft 1.13 update and have made some decisions:

The Lab World will be preserved in full for 1.13. We were originally contemplating a lab world reset, as the lab world was causing crashes in the 1.13 environment. These crashes have now been fixed and the lab world can be migrated over safely.

We will be adding a “maps” world to support dynamic maps once we update to 1.13.

The PVP Arena rules will be maintained, even though the plugin won’t transition to 1.13 with us. This does mean that arenas will lose automatic protection and automatic game management. Once we update, we’ll start looking for potential replacements.

A reminder that a moratorium is still in place on new plugin suggestions until the migration is complete. We’re getting there!

We will let you know when the beta server is ready for everyone to visit and test out the 1.13 setup. It’s still whitelisted to staff only for the time being.

We are currently estimating an April update for the main server, but the server will be whitelisted to staff for a day or two to allow CoreProtect to migrate the database. More information will be forthcoming.

Savannah Line is now open

_HeavenAngel_ has completed construction of the MRT Savannah Line, and it is now in service. Initial station allocations are as follows and all remaining stations are available on a first-come, first-served basis:

H1: FiorkG

H9: jamess_

H10: MgWn

H11: Vickiposa

H12: hvt2011

H14: Cact0

Please remember the proximity restrictions: you need permission to build within 300 blocks of another town, and if you’re within 500 blocks of a town with an active mayor, you need to be in touch with them and they need to accommodate you in a reasonable manner.

Next MRT Lines

We have approved two extensions to the MRT network:

godzilltrain proposed an extension of the Expo East Line from its current terminus in XE26 (Farwater) to the Jungle Line. This extension (XEX) has been approved for immediate construction.

Vennefly and Red_Ray proposed an extension of the Plains Line to Richville International. This extension (PLX3) has been sponsored by hvt2011 and approved for immediate construction.

These lines are now restricted, and claiming of stations or building along the lines are prohibited until the lines open.

Hey all! Last week we started talking about some upcoming changes to the rules, and this week we finished that conversation while also reviewing the other projects you all want to get done. The public portion recording is now available here. Here are the results from the February 2019 GSM.

Rules Revamp document released

It’s been a long time coming! Today we released our proposal of the new rules page, which we will vote on at the March GSM and hope to have in effect then. We’ve attempted to write this manifest of rules to help clarify our expectations, provide examples, and overall reduce ambiguity in the rules. To be clear, the new rules are not in effect yet, and there are still some topics we will be updating or adding information to. You can read the new proposal here: http://bit.ly/MRTRulesRevamp.

Some of the highlights of the proposed rules are:

See last week’s post for the rules regarding airfields, seaplanes, and helicopters – all of these have been carried forward.

Rail lines need to have stations 2,000 blocks or closer together (measuring from closest ends of platforms using “local” trains). Staff can waive this requirement via email.

MRT stations are staff property, but you can make some changes without needing to contact us. If your town is below the Mayor rank you can change the entrances, and once it reaches Mayor you can make cosmetic improvements elsewhere in the station. Any modifications to MRT tracks need to be run by staff first.

We are renaming “Asset Auctions” to “Asset Transfers” and have clarified the rules surrounding this process.

We are removing the $10,000 funding limit for large events. Events requesting funding still need to keep requests in line with their size and scope, but we will now accept larger requests. Events requesting review at the March 2019 GSM will still be subject to the limit.

We’ve posted this document publicly to get your feedback before we vote to adopt these rules at the next GSM, which will occur on March 9, 2019. As you read through the rules proposal please send questions, concerns, or other feedback to the staff via email.

Smaller community issues

The lake near Sunshine Coast has been officially named Lake Thanos and numbered Lake 30.

The staff have approved a new titled position, and as of now I (chiefbozx) am Administrator and Staff Meetings Coordinator.

While not an official title, we designated Tom_Pairs the “Minester of Forin Afers” at some point during the meeting.

We also had to send in the Spawn City Fire Brigade to extinguish some fires in Spawn Station on the old world.

1.13 update

We’re continuing to monitor the Minecraft 1.13 update and its breaking changes, and we’ve been using the beta server to test some plugins and verify compatibility. As of now the beta server is still whitelisted to staff only, but we are making progress.

Right now we are waiting on Multiverse and CoreProtect to become 1.13 compatible before we begin public testing. Additionally, there will be migration issues with EasyElevator and PVPArena:

EasyElevator (EElevator) has been deprecated for a while and it’s honestly still amazing that it even works on 1.12. The 1.13 update breaks it entirely and we will not be carrying it forward. Buildings using elevators will need to replace them with Lifts.

The PVPArena plugin has been causing issues and we suspect isn’t compatible with 1.13. We’re looking for alternatives, but for now don’t expect all of the PVP arenas to migrate in a fully-functioning state.

We’ll let you know of the update progress if we’re able to make any headway. For now, note that there is a moratorium on new plugin suggestions until the 1.13 update is installed and stabilized on the main server.

New Premiers

We reviewed six candidates for Premier and approved two: congratulations to Cact0 of Sunshine Coast, and Earack of Lanark! Cact0’s acceptance speech was as follows:

Thanks to everyone who’s built Sunshine Coast. It’s been great being with this community for the short time I’ve been here over the last months I’ve worked on the city, and I think it’s really paid off. Thanks to everyone who has helped me along the way.

Cact0, Mayor of Sunshine Coast

It has been a great three years on the server. I never would have expected that I would reach the top rank (other than staff) back when I joined in late 2015. This is a great community full of very nice people and incredible cities, and I am glad to have been a part of it!

Earack, Mayor of Lanark

Roads, Projects, and Transfers, Oh My!

Premier city reviews and the conclusion of the Rules Revamp discussion took most of the meeting, so the rest were relatively quick. Here’s what happened!

The A246, proposed by FooteChicken to run from Farwater to Bawktown, has been approved.

The A12, proposed by Frosty_Creeper10 and frogggggg to run from Takasaki to Titsensaki, has been approved.

The A6 (originally the A746), proposed by LithiumMirnuriX to run from Janghwa to Birdhall, has been denied. We still have concerns over Lithium’s road quality and don’t want the mesa biome getting cut in half.

The B355, proposed by Majatho3 and imperial_block to run from Jungleville to Midjungle, has been approved under supervision: due to the sensitive terrain in the jungle biome we don’t want the road to be built in a way that creates massive land scars. Some staff will be on hand to supervise the construction as it progresses.

IsoMclaren proposed the B408-P, however this was denied as we need more information on the interchange with the A8 (specifically what kind of interchange will be used). Additionally, the road needs to be re-numbered in a way that starts with “8” and does not end in a letter. IsoMclaren can receive approval via email once these two issues are addressed.

hvt2011 proposed three service expansions to BluRail. We approved the expansion through Dabecco, but denied expansions to Xiiona (as there is currently no need to have service there or tracks beyond) and Birchwood (as there are alternative routings that can put tracks in other locations in the area).

KittyCat11231 proposed several expansions to IntraRail, and we approved all of the expansions and track permits that required staff attention, including a station at MRT Marina. We also applaud Kitty for sending an elaborate and clear proposal that was very easy for us to make a decision on.

The towns at C31 have been transferred to Hightech_TR.

The town of Voltsphere (A19/T24) has been transferred to ModernArt.

There’s a weird structure southwest of Thunderbird that tell276 supposedly owns. We have no idea what it is, but it’s decorminecraft’s problem now.

It’s been a long time coming! We spent four hours arguing about how airports are supposed to work and discussing other rules changes, and we are one step closer to implementing them and overhauling the Rules page.

Note that these rule changes are not in effect yet. We are planning to vote on them at the March GSM on March 9.

There are some changes we did decide on at the meeting, however, so let’s go through them in detail.

Plagiarism and usage of others’ buildings in your towns

Multiplayer Minecraft is collaborative by design, and we know a lot of you like to use buildings found elsewhere either as inspiration for your own creations, or putting a copy of them in your own town directly. We’ll be updating the General Rules to require towns to be proactive in declaring which builds are original and which ones are not in addition to the existing requirements of giving credit and only adding buildings that you have permission to use.

When the new rules are enacted, the rule will read as follows:

Give credit where credit is due. Buildings copied from another source, either on or off the MRT, must be given willingly by the original builder, or used with the builder’s permission. Such buildings also need to be attributed back to their owners by a sign on the exterior of the build. Town mayors are responsible for declaring the origin of buildings at the time of import, town review, or upon request by staff. Failure to do so may result in warnings if discovered by staff afterward. Town mayors are recommended to keep a record of where buildings came from in their town. Buildings copied from other sources will not be counted for the purpose of evaluating towns for promotion. Franchises owned by MRT members are exempt from declaration requirements, however permission from the franchise owner is still required.

We would prefer players to err on the side of caution and give credit anytime you import a building from somewhere else or take inspiration from someone else’s work. After all, we know you would want credit if it happened to you!

Some air transport restrictions are being eased

Did someone say gaaaaaaaaates??????

hvt2011, probably

When the new rules take effect we will be allowing additional towns access to air travel through helicopters, and defining specific regulations for the construction of seaplane bases.

Under the new regulations:

Councillor ranked towns may have one functioning helicopter service point (“helipad”). That is, Councillor ranked towns are permitted to have one helicopter which contains warps to somewhere else.

Mayor ranked towns may have two functioning helicopters (one more than Councillor ranked towns). Mayors can choose to run a helicopter line between two points in their town, to have service to other towns, or some combination of the two.

Cities ranked Senator and above don’t have a hard cap on the number of functioning helipads, however any helipads above the free two must be included in an airfield or airport.

Towns of any rank may have an unlimited number of non-functioning or decorative helipads, which can even include helicopters on them (so long as they don’t have warps). Helicopters can even be built flying in the air without restriction. However, decorative helipads need to be isolated from other helipads, as groups of helipads together can be considered a heliport and therefore are restricted to the Senator rank or above.

A reminder that helicopter service is still subjected to the gate safety regulation passed at the January GSM. While helicopters don’t have a runway, they need to be touching down on their helipad in order to have warps and provide service.

Just like airplanes there are no restrictions on the number of warps that a single helicopter can service.

Cities ranked Senator and above that share a coast with one of the 29 numbered lakes from the November 2017 GSM will be permitted to build seaplane bases as air facilities. Terminal buildings and piers used to carry passengers between the terminals and seaplanes will count towards a city’s air facility limits, however the water between piers will not count. Seaplane bases will need to ensure that planes have a clear runway, and of course passengers can’t be expected to swim to or from planes.

Cities not on one of the numbered lakes will need GSM approval to build a seaplane base.

Seaplanes can’t land on terrestrial runways, and regular planes can’t land at seaplane bases. Passengers can transfer between these on the ground.

We also discussed the trend of building underground terminals at airfields. While staff have varying opinions on the matter, we are aware of the concerns of realism and the economics of airfields wanting to maximize gates. We would encourage airfield owners to try to design their facility with realism in mind, however we are permitting underground facilities as they do provide a useful benefit. Underground facilities are still subjected to size restrictions and can’t bulge out from under the buildings on the surface (though note that landside roads don’t count).

Smaller rule changes

The 500 block rule (which states that if you’re building within 500 blocks of another town, you need to be in contact but they can’t outright deny your ability to build) will only apply to towns with an active mayor. The 300 block permission threshold still applies to all towns.

We will be rewording Most Important Rule #4 to read “Have fun and don’t take yourself too seriously.”

Lots of rules will have definitions and examples provided to help remove ambiguity.

We will be publishing the full proposed manifest following the GSM and will be accepting comments on all rules once that is published. Other GSM topics will need to be submitted by 7pm UTC on Friday, February 8.

Hey everyone, happy new year! We were happy to have great attendance at the January 2019 GSM, and we have some announcements we’d like to share. Apologies for the delay in getting these announcements posted. The video stream from the staff meeting is available on YouTube here.

Some expectations around airports are changing

We spent a good amount of time discussing a proposal to add expectations of realism to airports and airfields, similar to how these expectations are in force for other transportation types. While we haven’t come to a consensus on the extent these expectations should cover, we did agree on one new restriction that airports need to comply with as soon as possible:

Runways must be free of gates and active warps.

“Gates” are any area where aircraft park to allow for the loading and unloading of passengers and cargo. Gates can be attached directly to the terminal, or they can be a remote stand elsewhere on the apron. Under no circumstances should passengers board an aircraft on a runway.

We will be discussing additional expectations in coming GSMs and will be in communication with airport owners if there are obvious items that should be addressed. Old World airports will be exempt from further realism improvements, as bringing them up to standards would not fall under “minor changes” as we defined a few months ago, and the Old World is so much of a mess that we’d rather not try to start applying standards to it.

Changes to Discord announcements and pings

We’ve heard from members that there are times when there are too many announcements in the #announcements Discord channel with an @everyone ping attached to them. To help alleviate the number of times you need to clear your Discord notifications, staff are being asked to limit the use of @everyone to announcements that affect all members, and are time-sensitive. Staff are also being asked to consolidate announcements to a single post wherever possible. Additionally, with the exception of GSMs and other official server business, all announcements of streams and staff-run events will be moved to the #events channel.

We are also aware that some players keep #announcements muted due to the frequency of announcements. While muting #announcements is your own choice, know that we strongly discourage doing so. Players are expected to read #announcements, so if you have the channel muted, you’re responsible for checking it manually every so often to ensure you’re up to date. “I didn’t see the announcement because I have #announcements muted” is not an acceptable excuse to ask staff questions that are addressed in recent announcements.

Finally, we are expanding the availability of @everyone mentions to include more server-wide events. While non-staff won’t be able to actually make the ping directly in the message, staff will be happy to add the mention to let everyone know. Events wishing to use @everyone pings must be on the events calendar and announcements must meet the same criteria as those made by staff (affecting everyone and time-sensitive). Generally we will alert everyone for large events upon availability of signups, and shortly before the event begins. If you’re organizing an event, be sure to use all of the available promotion channels to ensure that your event is a success.

Additional community issues

Starcubed proposed adjusting the requirements to building an airport. This proposal was denied as it created additional workload and could result in too much of the world being taken up by airports.

godzilltrain proposed adding convenience methods to bed spawns. This proposal was approved for Members and above. Members can now right-click a bed to set their bed spawn, and teleport to it at any time, free of charge, with the command /home (or /home bed, for players with multiple homes).

We did not consider any moderator nominations, though we did announce that AstroSlurp was the official sponsor of drinks for the January 2019 GSM.

Roads

We discussed a possible extension to the A8, and an extension of the B820. These projects were denied as the A8 extension was not formally proposed, and the B820 was contingent upon the approval of the A8 extension.

_Mossie proposed extending the A2 northwards past Verdantium and up to Secunda, along with the A269, a spur that will serve portions of Secunda as development progresses in the area. As long as the bridge going over the bay is of sufficient height, these roads are approved.

Wutev proposed building the B57 between Palestropol and Southport. This road was approved, however the number B57 is already in use (for a road going between New Oakley and Segville), so Wutev will need to use a different road number.

time2makemymove proposed upgrading Venceslo Parkway’s designation to a B-road with the number B59, and extended to Urbisan where it will interchange with the A5. The extension has been approved on the condition that MaxStewartS claims ownership of Urbisan (as he is the Deputy Mayor), while the renaming of the road and usage of B59 has been approved.

Majatho3 and imperial_block proposed the B355 to run parallel to the Jungle South Line between JS2 and JS4. This has been denied due to the extensive terraforming activity that would be required in the jungle biome and the uncertainty that staff have around past build quality from these players.

GrumpyGoomba9 proposed the B229, running from Peaslake to Jaikrunda via New Bakersville. This road has been approved.

CodyHM proposed the B139 from Seoland to Quiris. This has been conditionally approved depending on the southern interchange and location of the A1, as these roads do run parallel for a significant distance.

Projects and funding proposals

KittyCat11231 proposed building an IntraRail line between Waterville and Larkspur, passing under Armada, Lancaster, and Cicero. This has been conditionally approved depending on the status of Lancaster.

Frosty_Creeper10 and frogggggg proposed the Winter Games event (which is different from the Winter Olympics) and a total grant of $3,825. This has been funded in full.

Property auctions

XW21 has been transferred to Cynra.

BernCow requested ZS23 and ZS24, however these were denied as he needs to build closer to them to claim them.

Similarly, Wutev requested V15, however this was denied as he also needs to build closer to them to claim them.

Aldranster50 requested V23, however this was denied as cookiesareedible has a town at the station (coming over from V24).

New MRT lines!

At the GSM we opened the Island and Valley Line Extensions (ILX/VLX), running from Fort Yaxier and SummerVille to the southern border. We awarded V41 to CaptainObi and V43 to Majatho3, and all other stations on the lines are available on a first-come, first-served basis. As always, please remember the following when claiming new MRT stations:

Once you claim a station, you have two weeks to add significant development to it (usually a couple buildings is fine), otherwise your claim can be invalidated.

You need the permission of anyone within 300 blocks of new developments, and you need to be in communication with anyone within 500 blocks.

The Savannah Line is still in the works and we hope to open it in the next few months, and sesese9 will start work on another Zephyr Line South extension (ZSX2) which will run from Zaquar to the southern border. Please note that claiming stations along new lines is prohibited until the lines officially open at a GSM.

Upcoming meetings & events

Staff will be having a rules revamp discussion on Sunday, February 3, 2019 at 7pm UTC, and there will be a press conference afterwards.

Our next GSM will then be a week later, on Sunday, February 10, 2019 at 7pm UTC; topics need to be on the agenda by 7pm UTC on February 8.

With regards to member-hosted events: the second sessions of the Winter Games and Game X: The Portals of Hell will occur on January 26, and the Mini-Golf Building Competition is in full swing and course building is open through January 31.

Upcoming Events

I will be organizing some official events and streams in the coming days. All streams can be viewed on my Twitch channel at https://twitch.tv/frumple.

Tuesday, December 25 starting at 5pm UTC: Frumple’s Obligatory Holiday Stream on the MRT. This will be a chill stream where I’ll go explore Christmas Island, open presents, and just hang out in voicechat.

Sunday, December 30 starting at 7pm UTC: Secret Hitler. We played this popular board game at the server anniversary earlier this year, so we’ll be doing it again for the end of the year. To participate, you will need to create an account on https://secrethitler.io and you will need to be able to speak in Discord voicechat.

Monday, December 31 starting at 7pm UTC: New Year’s Eve Jackbox Games. We’ll again be playing Jackbox Party Pack 3 and 4 (and Drawful 2) before we bring in the new year. To participate, all you’ll need is a web browser or mobile device that can go to https://jackbox.tv, and a way to watch Frumple’s stream. Joining Discord voicechat is recommended, but not necessary.

Godzilltrain is also running a Mini-Golf Building Contest. Members may compete in one of two brackets for 9-hole courses and 18-hole courses, and may build from now until January 31st. For more details, please check out the full rules of the contest.

In addition to the official events, there are a couple of events organized by members of the MRT:

The New Bakersville World’s Fair is running from December 22nd to January 5th, organized by FredTheTimeLord. To get there, take the warp from spawn. Further details can be found on the wiki page.

The 2018 Winter Olympics will be held from December 27th to 29th, held in the city of Waterville and organized by airplane320. Further details can be found on the wiki page.

Towns up for General Auction

Here’s a reminder that the next General Staff Meeting will be held on Saturday, January 12th at 7pm UTC. Please be sure to send any topics for discussion before January 10th.

Related to the GSM, we also have a number of towns that have become available for general auction. The towns are (with comments about the previous owner):

XW21 – ortem has been inactive for over a year.

T37 – BernCow has given up ownership of this town.

ES19/P33 – GoldenRet has given up ownership of this town.

Lowami (located at coordinates X = -6330, Z = 15010) – Halfy_Crafty has given up ownership of this town.

Wakehurst(located at coordinates X = -6815, Z = 11121) – Previously owned by FoxFoe and given to MojangChan, MojangChan has given up ownership of this town.

If you are interested in owning any of these towns, please send a request to staff explaining what you would like to do with the town and why you should own it, and we will consider it at the January GSM.